The Science of Heartbreak
by VanishRain
Summary: AU. Wrapped up in her world of anthropology and trying to share her scientific discoveries with her friends, little does young Temperance know how far one punch will push her. They say love is blind but can it really take a punch right in the gut?
1. It All Starts with A Punch

_It All Starts with A Punch_

_Note: This is one of the few alternate realities I will do. It may seem a little out of character now but I assure you, I will be drawing from things and perceptions from the show._

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"That guy is toast." Pete chuckled as he glanced wide-eyed at the blackened pile of bones before him, "I mean really burned… I wonder if he actually does taste like toast. If I just take a lick I am sure…"

"Pete!" Temperance let out a tortured groan, "That is not how we treat remains. We should treat the dead with the utmost respect, not as some childish joke. If your family member was on the table before us I am sure you would want the scientists doing the observation to be as considerate as possible."

"Awe, how cute. Little Tempie is mad." The man standing next to the young anthropologists smiled, "You gonna beat me up again?"

"I didn't beat you up, as you so ruefully defined, I… I just…"

"He's got a black eye, Temperance." A young woman grinned, "You used the poor boy as a punching bag."

"And he's got a bruise the size of Texas!" The last of the group chimed in, "If you poke him right here he will…."

"Alright, alright." Matt finally relented, "I got beat up by a girl. What more do you want from me?"

"Well, I am sure Temperance would like many things from you." Alexis cooed, "Starting with a kiss and ending with..."

"Alex!" The up and coming anthropologist screeched, "I have told you countless times that work should be first and foremost in our minds. It is pointless to have a relationship that is anything more than intellectually beneficial in nature. We are here to learn, not to have sex like a bunch of emotional-less animals!" The young woman turned a flustered glare across the room before settling back before the darkened bones, "Who wants to help with the defleshing or am I going to have to do this entire project myself?"

"Man, she's got it bad." Pete nodded, slinging his arm over Matt's shoulder, "All that's stress has got to be relieved somehow. You going to hit that or am I going to have to?"

"Did you even have to ask that question?" Matt grinned, "I mean look at... maybe that vacancy has already been filled." Matt shrugged as his eyes dragged up and down the man standing in the doorway. It was clear that he was out of place but the way the stood showed his possession over someone in that room, who he just wasn't sure.

"Which one of you is the nerdy pipsqueak?" A young man's voice bellowed as four sets of eyes shot up like rockets at the authoritative tone, "Carter told me to come and get you. This better work or you'll have a whole football team to deal with. Hell, I am sure the whole city will want your head if you..." The man trailed off, kicking hard against the tile floor. Just walking into the science department was enough to send him over the edge but he had to do this, take one for the team. They needed her expertise and even if it cost him his sanity and every penny he had to come out of this room with one nerd by his side, that is what he would have to do. He even would carry her if he had to. Well, that was his original plan until he saw just how slim the pickings where in the science department. Maybe he should have worn his full gear just in case. Nerdiness isn't contagious... right?

"We all have high intelligent quotients." Temperance pipped up without lifting her eyes from the set of bones before her, "You are going to have be more specific then intelligent."

"Look," The young man huffed, "Lady... I don't care what is shoved up your ass. All I came here to do was get the intern that was helping us run our drills. I don't need a big speech about how you are smarter then me. I just need the damn kid, got it?"

"We are all young adults here." Matt smiled, trying to relieve the heavy gaze fallen solely on his best friend, "Right, Temp? All fully formed human beings."

"Actually, we will not be fully developed until our late twenties and then we will start to decay." Temperance corrected, refusing to acknowledge the foreigner.

"Did she just say that we are all dying?" The young man shook his head in disbelief.

"Yep." Pete nodded, "That is why we all love our little Temperance here, straight to the point and honest."

"Well then." The young man straightened up before extending his hand to the group, "The name is Jared, Jared Evans. Now if the person known as mouse would please accompany me then we can be on our way."

"Go on, Temp." Matt smiled, "The man is calling for ya. He won't bite, I promise." He nodded, stepping back and watching as Temperance stripped the latex gloves from her hands.

"She's the one known as mouse?" Jared eyed the group in disbelief, "Out of all of you, she's... it?"

"Yep." Alex smiled, "She's the one, right Tempie?"

"I am told." The young woman acknowledged before briskly walking out of the room and down the hall.

"You better hurry up dude or your going to loose her." Pete smiled.

"Hey lady, wait up!" Jared screamed as he ran down the hall, leaving the laughing group in his wake. Little did he know the heart of the lion that truly beat within.

The walk toward the athletic department was a swift one for Temperance. Even though in the two years that she had been at the University, she had never stepped a foot anywhere but in the science wing it was impossible to miss the large building.

"Go on," Jared lightly tapped the young woman on the shoulder, "They are all waiting for you. Just walk in there are do your thing."

"I will when I find it feasible." Temperance retorted with a snarl.

"The hallway is empty, lady." He spoke as he lightly shoved her into the doorway, "Just go in there."

"Fine." She snapped, stepping the few feet into the brightly lit room. Her eyes quickly scanned the scantly clad men before her; breathing in deeply to try and regulate her racing heartbeat, Temperance felt the weight of dozens of eyes weighing heavily on her weak form.

"So, is that the broad who is supposed to fix all our game time woes?" A young man in the front of the group groaned, "Maybe she can scare the other team away."

"Now, now boys." Coach Carter growled as he shoved the pitiful freshman before the team, "Now if she could assure you a playoff spot you would think twice about saying those types of things. Now, Temperance, introduce yourself."

As Temperance's eyes ran over the team before her, the always outspoken young woman found herself at a loss for words. That was, until her eyes locked on a lengthy man standing in the back of the room.

"You..." She hissed as she charged toward the man, "You... you damn idiot!" The words exploded out of her mouth just in time to mask the large thud that as her fist made contact with the man's nose.


	2. Tugging At The Heartstrings

_Tugging At The Heartstrings_

_Note: Booth in this chapter may not seem like the Booth we all know but I assure you he is in there somewhere. And don't kill the messenger, please, I tend to like living._

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"Damn Seels," A young man in the middle of the crowd chuckled, "She got you good. Real good. Looks like she broke something too."

"No shit, Jack." Another confirmed, "Hey Carter, can we have her on our side instead?"

With an angry glare flickering across the room Seeley groaned as he attempted to save what little face he had left. He was supposed to be the big man on campus, not thrown down a few pegs just because some little freshman decided to show how strong she was. "Wait... it can't be her" He lightly mumbled to who he thought was only himself but that was a mistake he would soon regret. Nothing got past his friends, especially gossip about their favorite captain.

"Her?" Jack asked, now interested in just how well his friend knew this young lady, "Don't tell me you had a fling with her. She doesn't seem your type, Seels, she is not blonde and plastic."

As the room filled with young men filled with a roar of laughter, Seeley knew he had to do something before the whole room would be talking about him for days. Sure, he had nothing to worry about in the female department but if it got out that he actually might like a nerd; it didn't matter how well he could throw a ball, he would still be a social outcast faster than his balls spiraled out of control.

"Her sister..." Seeley started as his eyes pierced through the young woman standing before him.

"She is not my sister." Temperance defiantly interrupted.

"Well, this nerd's sister, you see she..."

"She is not my damn sister, okay?" Temperance barked as she hovered above her arch enemy, "She is just a girl who happens to share the same domicile as I do. We are not related biologically or socially. We just... live together."

"Whatever you say, chick." Seeley half nodded toward her before turning back to the crowd of teammates, "You see, there was this girl named Becky and well... we hit it off if you know what I mean. I am not a one lady man and she couldn't just take a hint. She was good but not that good." He finished with nods of approval from his peers.

"Her name is Rebecca and you... you used her and threw her away like a piece of trash! She is a human being Mr. Booth, not some toy you can play with then throw away when you are done with it." Temperance huffed, determined not to let him win this battle of wills.

"You seem to know a lot about a chick you are not related to." Seeley finally turned from his admiring companions toward the woman hovering closely overhead, barely noticing the pain flickering over her baby blues.

"Well, we happen to have a lot in common and while she is not family by any calculate-able standards I do care for her. She is a friend."

"Uh huh, whatever you say." Seeley shrugged as one of his teammates helped him up off the ground, "It is not as though you nerd types need any normal friends..." He trailed off, caught up in trying to keep what just happened from making it's rounds in all the social circles.

But before he could even finish his thought the mouse had slipped off into the crowd and out the door. It was not as though she couldn't handle herself in a room full of men but the indignation that radiated off such an ungrateful man was something she found herself drawn to. Like a moth to a flame, there was no denying he was dangerous but she had no idea how dangerous he truly could be. She had promised herself to always hate him for the destruction he had caused but a part of her heart knew that was impossible. She couldn't even look into his hallow eyes without letting the indestructible anguish penetrate even the deepest corridors of her fragile heart. His eyes held all the answers her heart had always longed for but one look was enough to send her over the edge into the abyss.

"Hey, where did the girl go?' One of the young men finally noticed the lack of a female presence in the room.

"I... I'll go look for her." Seeley stumbled on the words, not sure if his friends would catch onto his true intentions.

"Well, be careful man. You don't want to catch any of those nerdy diseases."

"You know it." Seeley halfheartedly smiled before quickly dashing out of the room toward he only place he knew she would be. The only place he had ever seen a smile grace her meek face. She just had to be there or the last six months of his life had all been in vain.

Sure, most never tried to look past the nerdy, awkward woman that seemed to defy all logic. But to Seeley, Temperance was more than just a nerd with good self defense skills. Even if she never knew, from the first day she had walked into his gaze he had been watching and waiting, waiting for a moment just like this.


End file.
